Frayed Demons
by Bluebaby555
Summary: A case hits far too close to home for Lisbon, bringing up unwanted and unwelcome demons from her past. Will she be able to help the young girl who reminds her so much of herself or will it be too late. Eventual Jisbon.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

**A/N: There is always so much about Jane's past and Red John being written that I wanted to try something that dealt full force with Lisbon's own personal demons and her past. It's rated T for now, but will most likely get higher. THIS IS A JISBON FIC. WARNING: This story will contain child abuse. Another small note: I know only two of Lisbon's brothers' names so I made up the third one, Christopher. Also, I'm finishing up my last multi-chapter fic "Blood Red Idol" and that should be wrapped up soon. **

_Whiskey, the heavy and all too familiar stench hung in the air. _

_Teresa was backed into the corner of the small living room, clutching her youngest brother Tommy to her. The little boy was crying, his small body shaking, and Teresa gripped his shoulders more securely._

_"Shh." She whispered into his ear. "It's gonna be okay Tommy."_

_She heard Tommy sniffle, but despite her words Teresa was terrified. She wouldn't allow herself to show it. She had to be strong for Tommy, for James, for Christopher, and she had to be strong for herself._

_Her father took another long swig from the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand and wiped his mouth off with his arm. He was far past just being drunk and teetering on the edge of blacking out. _

_"Where the hell are those boys?" He shouted, his words slurring. He pointed his blurry gaze on Teresa and she clutched Tommy even tighter out of sheer instinct. "I asked you a question!"_

_"J-J-J-James... he had football practice, dad, and Chris said he was staying late at school to study for a test." Teresa managed to stammer out through her fear. "They're probably just running a little late."_

_"And the little shits don't even have the common decency to pick up a phone and call!"_

_"I'm sure they'll be home any minute dad." _

_He was taking another long pull from the bottle when his daughter's words hit him. Slowly putting the bottle down he turned to face Teresa and Tommy. He stumbled forward a few steps, the irrational drunken rage emanating in waves off of him._

_"What, are you all keeping a little secret from me? Is that it? Huh!" _

_"No dad." Teresa pleaded, knowing what was about to come._

_"You are, aren't you." He lumbered forward and grabbed Tommy by his t-shirt lifting the small boy off of the ground. "I work my ass off to keep you fed, to keep a roof over your ungrateful heads and all you little bastards ever do is undermine me and sneak around behind my back." He shook Tommy violently causing him to let out a cry._

_"Stop!" Teresa yelled out. "Please, dad, stop. You're hurting him." _

_He dropped Tommy to the floor with a loud thud and Teresa watched as Tommy crawled away as fast as he could._

_"Trust me angel, you and your good for nothing brothers know nothing about hurt ." _

_Teresa felt a sudden sting burn across her cheek. After a moment she managed to push herself off of the wall and her long dark brown hair fell away from her face as she touched her hand to her cheek. Sucking in her lower lip she tasted the metallic tang of blood. He raised his hand again and brought it back down with such force that she fell to the ground in a heap. He began to undo his belt from around his waist._

_"Daddy! Stop! Please! Don't hurt her!" Tommy cried out. _

_"Tommy go!" Teresa yelled to her little brother, her big green eyes begging him. He didn't need to see this. _

_Tommy hesitated before scrambling out of the room and running to the bedroom he shared with his two older brothers. He hid in the closet and squeezed his eyes shut tight, blocking his ears, trying to drown out the sound of the belt and his sister's cries of pain._

**...**

Teresa bolted upright in bed. Her breathing was ragged and a film of cold sweat covered her body. She closed her eyes for a minute, collecting her thoughts before opening them again. It was just a nightmare, a faded memory that for some reason decided to claw itself out of the box she kept it securely locked away in.

It took her a second to realize that her cell phone was vibrating on her bedside table. She sucked in a lungful of air and tried her best to calm her frazzled nerves as she reached out in the semi dark room for her phone.

"Lisbon." She answered, swinging her legs around until she was sitting on the edge of her bed, shrugging the football jersey over her head as she balanced her cell phone against her ear. "Yeah... okay... I'll be in, in 20 minutes." Lisbon ended the call and tossed her phone to the side heading towards her bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would wash away the remnants of the nightmare. She fingered the cross pendant around her neck and prayed silently to herself.

**...**

Two hours later, Teresa Lisbon found herself pulling up to a crime scene in the town of Davis. The SUV came to a stop behind a few squad cars. She and Cho hopped out of the car and flashed their badges at the officers as they ducked under the yellow tape.

Laura Evans was 38-years-old. She was a loving wife and mother of two and now she was lying lifeless on the pavement of a grocery store parking lot in the hot sun, brutally beaten to death.

Lisbon glanced over her shoulder as Van Pelt pulled up and the red head got out of the driver's side of the SUV followed by Rigsby and Jane. She watched as her incorrigible consultant observed the area, his blue eyes taking in everything at once, cataloging every little detail.

A cold feeling in the pit of Lisbon's stomach warned her of something she couldn't exactly place, but she pushed it aside.

There was work to be done.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

"She was having an affair."

All eyes went to the curly blond consultant who was bent over Laura Evan's body, leaning in just a little too closely.

One of the officers, a heavy set man in his late 40's, scowled at Jane. "Laura was a good kid. She would never do something like that."

Jane stood up straight and dug his hands in his pockets. He gave the seasoned officer a brief pitying look before he turned on his heels back to the team and the commotion around them started up again.

"To this very day it still surprises me how people can think the best of others even during the worst situations." Jane shook his head. "People only see what they want to." Jane didn't miss the frown on Lisbon's face, but instead of berating him she called out to the officer.

"Excuse me, Officer..."

"Barns, Mitchell Barns." The officer came over, shooting a not so subtle dirty look in Jane's direction.

"You knew the victim?" Lisbon asked.

Officer Barns heaved a heavy sigh. He shook his head and glanced down at the body, immediately regretting it. "Her husband, Gray, he's an officer as well, mainly desk work, but he's been out for the past week... sick something awful, can barely make out his voice over the phone. Stomach flu I think. We called him into the station this morning, though." Barns was shaking his head forlornly. "Those poor kids. They're so young and Laura meant the world to them, to Gray."

An old image of Teresa's father, half dressed in his fireman's gear, flipping over furniture and smashing glass passed through her mind. He had just found out the news about her mother's car accident.

"Boss? Boss?" Cho's calm voice interrupted Lisbon's thoughts and she quickly shook off the memory, coming back to the present. Cho stood in front of her waiting patiently for her orders.

"You, Van Pelt, and Rigsby stay here. Jane and I are going down to the station."

The Asian man nodded his head and got back to work. Lisbon began heading in the direction of where the SUV was parked, Jane easily catching up with her.

"Uh, not that I'm one to not follow orders," Jane began, which earned him a scoff and eye roll from Lisbon, "but don't you think my talents would be better used here for the time being?"

"I need you at the station with me." Lisbon paused for the briefest moment, realizing that what she just said had more than one meaning behind it. She hoped Jane hadn't picked up on the slight falter in her voice, but she knew he had. Fortunately for her he chose to let it go. "You're already pissing people off and we haven't even been here for 30 minutes. Officer Barns looked like he wanted to sucker punch you and I don't blame him." Lisbon said quickly, trying to cover up the rare vulnerableness that had broken through only seconds before.

Jane watched his petite brunette boss more closely as she walked away from him as fast as she could, without looking back. Something was cracking the armor of her normally perfectly placed professionalism and Jane was suddenly more curious about Lisbon than the body only a few yards away in the parking lot.

**...**

The Davis police station was quiet, quieter than normal. It was to be expected though. Half of the officers where back at the crime scene along with more than half of the entire town looking on.

Lisbon walked through the large double doors of the police station, Jane following closely behind, and stopped when he caught sight of a man in his early 40's sitting in a chair next to a rookie officer's desk. The rookie officer was silent, his hand squeezing the man's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, as the man himself remained eerily silent, staring down into the styrofoam cup of coffee in his hands.

What was so striking about him to Lisbon in particular, was that he looked uncannily like her father. They had the same height, build, square shaped jaw, and thinning black hair. The rough stubble on his face even seemed to be an exact match.

A young handsome officer sidled his way up to Lisbon and it didn't go unnoticed by Jane how the man gave her an appreciative once over before lightly touching her forearm.

"Special Agent Lisbon?" The young officer asked, shooting her a sweet, shy smile.

"Yes?"

"I'm officer Hyland. Officer Barns called in and said you would be stopping by."

"Yeah, right." Lisbon seemed to snap out of whatever hold had fallen over her and went to shake the man's hand, before Jane rudely interrupted and shook the young officer's hand first with a little more force than necessary.

"Patrick Jane, pleasure to meet you." Jane flashed the young man one of his mega watt smiles.

The young officer shot Lisbon a wary look. "It's fine, he's with me... unfortunately."

Jane frowned at Lisbon's little jab, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when he saw the frustrated affection in her eyes.

"I'm assuming you would like to speak with Mr. Evans?" Officer Hyland said, as he guided Lisbon and Jane across the bull pen to his own desk. "I'm not so sure he's ready to talk just yet. The poor guy's been in shock ever since we broke the news to him this morning.

Jane looked over at Gray Evans. He was slumped over in his chair, clutching the cup of coffee in his hands, but nothing about him gave off the impression of a man in shock.

"I'd be happy to help you out with anything you need." Officer Hyland said to Lisbon, a bit too eagerly.

"Is that his son?" Lisbon asked.

Jane couldn't help the inward smile the came over him at the dejected look on the young man's face, as Lisbon looked over to a small boy sitting across the bull pen behind a desk, silently playing with a plastic T-Rex dinosaur toy. The boy had been so quiet Lisbon almost hadn't noticed him.

"That's Joseph Evans." Hyland informed her. "He's only six. I don't really think he understands what's going on right now."

Jane ignored Hyland's words and took in the adorable little boys appearance. There was something about the way he half heartedly played with his toy, kept glancing over to his father on the other side of the room with caution, and remained very quiet that told Jane, Hyland couldn't be more wrong. Yes, maybe Joseph didn't understand the full extent of what was going on, but the little boy knew something was wrong.

"Eden!" Joseph's voice yelled out in joy and relief as a small, thin young girl, looking to be only about 15-years-old at the most, walked into the station.

Joseph dropped his toy on the desk and bolted towards the girl, jumping into her arms and holding on tight as soon as he reached her. Gray finally looked up from his cup of coffee.

"Hey pal." The girl said soothingly as she hugged her little brother tighter to her.

"I think something's wrong with mommy." Joseph said, the concern and worry seeming horribly out of place on his young, cherub like face. He tugged at his sister's long dark brown hair.

Eden's already pale white skin seemed to turn translucent. There were dark circles under her big doe like amber eyes and her pretty face looked exhausted, but it wasn't fresh. Jane could tell she had been looking this way for quite some time now.

"Eden." Gray Evans was finally standing up, the coffee cup set down on the desk next to him.

It seemed that the man didn't have to say anything further, everything that needed to be said was fixed in the firm gaze directed at his daughter. Eden gently detached her brother's arms from around her neck and put him down. She took a step forward, but Joseph held her hand holding her back. "Don't go." Joseph pleaded.

Lisbon stood frozen in her spot. It was like watching as her little brothers desperately clutched onto her hand every time she went to leave the apartment, begging her not to leave them behind.

"It will be all right pal. Just stay with officer Hyland, I'll be right back."

Eden gave Lisbon and Jane a tentative look before heading across the bull pen to her father. When she reached him, Gray wrapped his arm around her thin shoulder, a bit too tightly to the trained eye, and huddled her close to him as he turned them away and began speaking in hushed tones.

Both Lisbon and Jane found this to be more than suspicious, but officer Hyland just took it as a distraught father taking care of his daughter, explaining the situation in this dark hour as best as he knew how.

Joseph bit down on his lower lip anxiously as he watched his father and sister. Lisbon began asking Hyland a few routine questions and Jane took the opportunity to crouch down and talk to the little boy.

"Hi, I'm Patrick." Jane stuck out his hand and Joseph hesitated a moment before reaching out to shake it. "You must be Joseph."

Jane pulled back his hand and feigned hurt, squeezing his fingers. "That's some grip you've got there little man." Joseph smiled, his adorable face and hazel eyes lighting up, if only for a moment. Joseph looked over to his sister and father again. "Hey pal, everything is going to be okay."

Joseph gave Jane a disbelieving look that struck him. The boy was only six years old. Six year olds were basically programed to believe whatever they were told and this instantly alerted Jane that something was off.

"I promise." Jane said reassuringly. "You see that woman over there." Jane pointed towards Lisbon and Joseph shook his head. "Well, she's one of the best cops in the entire universe, just like your dad." Jane took note of the way Joseph looked untrusting again, "No, it's true. She's the best. She's going to help you and your family."

"She'll help Eden?" Joseph's hazel eyes lit up at the prospect of that and it didn't go unnoticed by Jane that the boy didn't mention anything about his father getting any type of help.

"Yes, she will." Jane watched the concern for his older sister flash across Joseph's face. "Without a doubt in my mind she will. She's the best." Jane repeated.

Joseph reluctantly nodded his head, his black curly hair falling over his eyes.

**...**

After Gray Evans little "chat" with his daughter he was ready to talk to Lisbon. Jane suspected him from the second he laid eyes on him, how could he not. There was something perplexing about the man, and in almost all cases of this sort it usually turned out that the surviving spouse was indeed the guilty one. However, despite first appearances, when they finally sat down with him, Gray was very much the loving, grieving husband. He was outraged, distressed, confused, shocked that anyone could and would hurt his beautiful wife, and he even had an air tight alibi. Gray had been in the ER all night with horrible stomach pains. Regardless of the slight sickly yellow tint to his skin and the deep bags under his eyes, he looked like he was getting over whatever illness had struck him for the past week.

Either Gray Evans was one hell of an actor or he truly was innocent... of murdering his wife at least.

Talking with his daughter Eden, that had been a completely different experience all together. It had shaken the normally calm and cool Teresa Lisbon up. Jane could tell by the way she left the station as quickly as she could once the interview was over. He could tell by the way she remained eerily silent on the short drive to the motel they were staying at.

_Eden Evans had her arms folded across her chest protectively, as Lisbon and Jane sat across the table from her. She was extremely guarded and Jane could practically see the brick wall she had built in front of her. She looked so thin and fragile on the outside, like she was made of China and with one wrong move, would shatter into a million jagged little pieces, but her amber eyes betrayed her physical appearance. They showed a massive strength and wariness towards the world and the people in it. She wasn't hysterical or breaking down at the shock of losing her mother. It was almost like she had been expecting something bad to happen to her mother. Maybe not her being murdered, but something bad nonetheless. Instead, she seemed anxious and couldn't stop tapping her foot on the floor. When Jane first saw her, it already looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, but now it seemed as if that weight had doubled in size._

_"Where were you last night?" Lisbon asked, as gently as possible. _

_"I was with Joseph. I was taking care of him while my dad was at the hospital." She chewed on her fingernails, not looking either Lisbon or Jane in the eye._

_"It was late, weren't the two of you sleeping?" _

_"He has nightmares. I usually have to stay with him for most of the night until he calms down."_

_Lisbon remembered all the times her brothers would huddle up with her in bed after having bad dreams, after physically living out a bad dream, seeking comfort and protection in her._

_"Do you remember the last time you saw your mom?" Lisbon changed the course of her questioning._

_"Around 10 I think. She was leaving the house." Eden blew her long bangs out of her face and Jane, for once, simply sat in the background and remained quiet, taking in the striking similarities between Lisbon and the girl, taking in every single word Eden said, every movement she made._

_"You didn't think it was strange that your mom was going out so late?"_

_"She's a nurse... was a nurse," Eden corrected herself and swallowed thickly, "she was always leaving the house at weird hours. I never asked anyway. It wasn't my business."_

_Lisbon knew what Eden meant. Her mother had been a nurse as well and kept odd hours due to her shifts constantly being changed around. _

_"Well, we know your mom didn't have work last night. You never asked her where she was going?"_

_"Of course I asked, she waved it off and I let it go, but I have bigger things to worry about." _

_"Like what?" _

_Eden stared at the floor like it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "Joseph." She mumbled quietly._

_"You worry about him a lot don't you?"_

_"Look." Eden finally met Lisbon's gaze, liquid amber staring into fern green. "I love my mom, okay. She always did everything she could. She loved us, but the last few months she was acting pretty flaky, she was always on her cell phone and distracted. I would try and talk to her, but she would always come up with some lame excuse like work or something. I don't know what was going on. I don't wanna know what was going on." Eden sat back and a heavy sigh left her. "I need to get back to Joseph."_

_"Your brother..." Lisbon began, but Eden cut her off._

_"He's scared. He understands that she's gone, that she's not coming back, but he doesn't get the whole picture of what's really going on. I need to make sure he's safe."_

_"He's with your father right now. He's safe." The icy cold feeling spread through Lisbon's stomach again as soon as the words left her mouth. _

_Eden quickly averted her gaze and pushed back in the chair standing up. "I'm sorry I can't help you anymore. I wish I could, but I-I don't know how, okay." _

_With that, Eden walked over to the door and knocked on it a few times before the officer guarding it opened it and let her out. Neither Jane nor Lisbon tried to stop her._

**...**

Lisbon sat on the mattress of the hard motel bed and waited impatiently as she held her cell phone to her ear waiting for her brother to pick up.

_Teresa had just turned 14 the week before. It was a little after 5 PM when she cracked open the front door of the apartment as quietly as she could, bracing herself for what was waiting for her on the other side. Relief washed over her when she saw her father passed out on the couch, an empty bottle of gin on the floor next to him, and the television flickering in the background._

_She tip toed through the living room and the kitchen, calling out Tommy and Chris's names as quietly as she could. She didn't dare risk waking up her father in his gin induced slumber. James still wasn't home. She knew his football practice was over, but he put off coming home for as long as he could and she couldn't blame him for it._

_Checking in her brothers' bedroom she found nothing and fear ran straight through her. She checked her own bedroom, the bathroom, and even dared to check her father's bedroom, but found nothing. As she crept back down the hallway, a noise coming from the closet startled her. _

_Teresa's hand shook as it reached for the doorknob. She opened the closet door only to find Tommy and Chris huddled behind the hanging clothes. There was dried blood under Tommy's nose and Chris was sporting a nasty welt under his left eye that was sure to turn into an even nastier bruise. _

_No words were spoken, no words needed to be spoken. Teresa slipped into the closet and shut the door behind her. She sank down onto the floor and wrapped her arms around her brothers, pulling them close. They must've sat in that closet for hours, finding rare and precious comfort in one another._

Tommy's answering machine pulled Lisbon back into the present moment. She listened to her youngest brother's short and sweet voice mail and then waited for the beep.

"Hey, Tommy, it's only me. We haven't spoken in a while. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. I miss you. I hope you're staying out of trouble." She let out a small laugh laced with sadness. "Call me back as soon as you get this. Love you. Bye."

Lisbon ended the call and fell back onto the bed. They weren't even 24 hours into the investigation and already she felt exhaustion taking hold of her. She closed her eyes, but no rest came. Images of Eden and Joseph Evans flashed through her mind relentlessly, along with the faces of her own three brothers and her father, tears, cuts, bruises, screaming... Lisbon pulled her knees up to her chest and covered her ears, trying to block it all out.

**...**

Jane was on his way to Lisbon's motel room to pass on what Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt had found out. It wasn't much, but it was something to start with at least. He went to knock on her door, but paused when he heard her tired voice through the thin wood of the door.

She was on the phone... leaving a message for one of her brothers. Jane let his hand fall back down to his side. After he heard her say, "Love you. Bye," it got deathly silent inside the room. He could hear the slight sound of the mattress creaking and then nothing.

Jane knew only a little about Lisbon's past. He knew her mother died when she was 12 in a car accident. Her father was a chronic alcoholic who she revealed had been abusive, verbally, physically, or both, Jane wasn't sure. He had been a fireman in Chicago and was well respected by the community. Other than those small tidbits of information, Lisbon was extremely guarded about her past and retreated back into her shell whenever she would accidentally let something from her past slip out.

Jane's fingers twitched and he thought briefly about picking the lock to check on her, but that would most likely piss her off and cause a heavy object to be chucked at his head. He shook the thought away. He would let her come to him and the team when she was ready. She just needed a few hours of rest. With one last glance, Jane walked back down the hall to his own room

**...**

Lisbon tossed and turned as an uneasy sleep fell over her.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

_Most 12 year olds broke their wrists while running around the playground or rough housing with their friends or siblings, not Teresa Lisbon. _

_It had been seven months since her mother's tragic car accident. _

_Tommy was at his friends house and James was at the park, tossing around a football with Christopher. Teresa was doing all of the chores, while her father sat silently in his chair in front of the TV in the living room, a half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, and the floor around him littered with empty beer cans. _

_She was just finishing up doing the dishes when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Slowly turning around, her father was standing right behind her, his forrest green eyes vacant and glassy._

_He reached past Teresa making her flinch, and snatched up a dish from the stack on the countertop. He turned it over in his hands, taking his time to inspect it. _

_"There's a spot." His voice was cold._

_Teresa gulped and looked down to the floor. "Sorry, I'll wash it again." _

_The plate slammed down on the linoleum floor, shattering. _

_"Jesus, Teresa! All I ask that you to do is help out around here and you can't even do that right!" _

_Apologizes began spilling out of Teresa's mouth as she dropped to her knees and began picking up the pieces of the broken plate. A gasp escaped her when she felt her father's fingers wrap around her wrist and yank her back up. _

_"You can't do anything right!" He breathed into her face, the smell of whiskey and beer making her cringe. _

_Teresa squirmed under his grasp trying to free her arm. "Dad... dad let go." He only tightened his hold. "Dad!" Tears were beginning to stream down her face. "Daddy!" The man squeezing her fragile wrist was no longer her father. He was a complete stranger._

_She somehow managed to wrench her arm free and slammed her foot into his shin. He let out a loud shout followed by a slew of curses and let go of her. Teresa took the opportunity to run for it. She rushed out of the kitchen and ran into the hallway. She could hear him following close behind, his lumbering footsteps getting closer. Her heart beat sped up and she picked up her pace. She just had to get to her bedroom at the end of the hall._

_She finally reached her door and grabbed onto the knob swinging the door open. Before she even could step into her bedroom she felt his large hand grab her wrist again, and tug with so much force she knew that he heard the snapping sound as well. She let out a shriek of agony and fell backwards onto the floor in her room. He went to come after her again, but Teresa kicked the door closed and shot up, locking it so he couldn't get in. _

_"You open this fucking door now!"_

_She held her twisted wrist oddly against her body and prayed for the pounding on her door to stop._

**...**

A loud and persistent knocking noise dragged Lisbon out of her sleep. She sat up on the bed and realized that she was still fully clothed. She must've drifted off.

"Lisbon?" Jane called through the door, and she could have sworn that she heard a hint of concern in his voice.

"Boss?" Van Pelt asked.

Lisbon got off the bed and quickly smoothed down her top and jeans. A dull burning feeling lingered in her left wrist, but she pushed it away and went to the door, unlocking and opening it.

"Are you okay?" Van Pelt asked, worry etched across the pretty red head's face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Lisbon ran her hand through her hair. "I guess I just fell asleep. What time is it?"

"It's 7:53." Van Pelt told her, looking at her watch.

"I've been out for hours. How come no one woke me up?"

"You needed to rest." Jane said.

"We have a case going on with no leads whatsoever. I can rest later."

Jane was going to shoot back with some comment about her all too apparent grumpiness, but stopped himself when he saw how frazzled she looked, and watched with curiosity as she held onto her left wrist.

"Where are Cho and Rigsby?"

"They went to the hospital about an hour ago to talk to the staff who were on duty at the ER the other night, when Gray Evans came in. We've been over the security footage from the parking lot where her body was found... there was a black SUV, a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We couldn't get a license plate number and the windows were tinted, but whoever was driving it was definitely the one who dumped her body. " Van Pelt caught her up to speed, and Lisbon noticed she was holding a stack of papers in her hand.

Lisbon stepped back, signaling for Jane and Van Pelt to come in. Van Pelt went right in and set up a make shift work area at the small table in the corner of the room. Jane however, leaned against the door frame, his bright blue eyes practically piercing into Lisbon as he tried to figure out what exactly was going through her mind. She ignored him and went over to Van Pelt, sitting in the chair next to her.

"Jane told us that Laura Evan's daughter..."

"Eden." Lisbon said, not really realizing it.

"He told us," Van Pelt continued, "that she mentioned her mother was on her cell a lot, more than usual the past few months, and acting a little strange so I had the phone records pulled."

"She was having an affair." Jane bounced down onto Lisbon's bed.

Both women ignored his comment, for the moment. It was just a hunch he had that they couldn't prove or disprove yet. They were going with the solid evidence they had for now. Lisbon's eyes scanned over each page as she flipped through them. "The number she kept calling is blocked."

"That," Van Pelt sifted through the papers until she found the one she was looking for, "and look at the phone record from last night."

Lisbon looked closely at the page. There were calls being made from the blocked number to Laura Evan's cell phone almost every five to 10 minutes after 10 PM, the time Eden said that she saw her mother leave the house.

"We're going to have to talk to Eden again... probably Joseph." Jane said. "I wouldn't mind talking with Gray Evans again either.

Eden's pretty face came into Lisbon's mind, her big amber eyes looking like they had witnessed more than anyone at that age should ever have to.

"Jane's right, I doubt Cho and Rigsby are going to get much from the hospital."

Lisbon nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, but I'll go tomorrow."

"Do you really think we should wait?" Van pelt asked.

"She just found out her mother is dead." Lisbon tried to keep her voice steady as she said that. "She was seriously guarded when I spoke with her earlier today. I think it's best if we give her some time. Maybe she'll remember something."

Van Pelt didn't completely agree, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Why don't you start going through the security footage of all the stores that were around the grocery store. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of their cameras picked something up."

Van Pelt neatly stacked the papers into a pile. "No problem." She got up from the chair and left the motel room.

It was quiet for a long time after Van Pelt left and Jane's voice startled Lisbon. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts she had forgotten that he was there.

"Are you all right?" Jane watched as Lisbon dropped her mother's cross pendant from between her fingers and shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She blatantly lied. "I just haven't been sleeping too well lately." She told him, which actually _was_ the truth.

"You see yourself in that girl."

"Eden." Lisbon said her name again, and Jane watched her closely, picking up on the fact that Lisbon wasn't seeing this kid as just another faceless person in one of their many cases. "There's just something... not right there." Lisbon blew her bangs out of her face.

Lisbon suddenly felt extremely vulnerable under Jane's unwavering blue gaze. She stood up and shifted her invisible armor back into place. "It's getting late."

"It is." Jane agreed, knowing exactly what she was insinuating, but deciding to ignore it. "Hungry?"

"No." Lisbon lied again. She was starving, but she had the feeling she couldn't eat anything even if she wanted to. "You should probably get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." She folded her arms across her chest and waited for Jane to get up off of her bed.

He didn't move for a long time and Lisbon thought she was going to have to resort to physically kicking him out of her room when he finally stood up.

She walked with him to the door and was about to close it when he stopped and reached out his hand, gently taking hold of her left wrist. His thumb began running soothing circles over her pulse point. Lisbon had to use every inch of her will power not to let her eyes flutter closed. She cleared her throat and slowly pulled her wrist out of Jane's comforting hold.

"Night, Jane." She closed the door.

Jane stood in front of the closed door for a long time. "Sweet dreams, Lisbon."

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

Lisbon was shrugging her top on when the familiar jingle that was her ring tone started playing. She raced over to the small table in the corner and a sense of relief came over her when she saw Tommy's name on the caller ID.

"Hey kid."

"Hey Tess." Tommy greeted his sister cheerily, but he sounded tired.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just haven't been sleeping so great. I swear that kid has built in radar and knows every single time Julie and I are right about to fall asleep."

Lisbon smiled at the memory of her two month old nephew. "Yeah, well if you ever feel like stopping by Sacramento I would be more than happy to watch the little guy for you so you can grab as much sleep as you want."

"Thanks." Tommy laughed light heartedly. "We do have to catch up soon. It feels like it's been forever."

"I know."

It was quiet over the line for a minute and Tommy let out a sigh. "Hey Tess, are you doing all right? The truth. You sounded a little... I don't know... drained in your message."

"Well, I don't have a new baby to use as an excuse, but I just got assigned to a new case... it's a little heavy. I haven't been sleeping so great either."

"Workaholic." Tommy teased his big sister.

Lisbon blew a raspberry into the phone and smiled at her youngest brother's laughter. "Oh, dammit." Lisbon glanced down at her watch. "I have to go, but do know that I am going to pester you relentlessly until you show up on my doorstep. Say hi to Julie and give Nicholas a kiss for me."

"Will do. Love you Tess. Bye."

"Love you too. Later kid."

A feeling of comfort, even though it was small, came over Lisbon as she ended the call. It was good to hear her brother's voice and know that he was happy. It made the long day ahead of her suddenly seem not so daunting.

**...**

It was getting close to one thirty in the afternoon and so far every lead that Lisbon and the team had been chasing had led to nothing but a dead end.

Van Pelt had checked the security camera footage from the other stores, but came up empty. Cho and Rigsby hadn't got much from the hospital except that they could confirm that Gray Evans was there from 8:15 PM to 7:30 the next morning.

All they had was an unidentified man, a black jeep they couldn't track down, and a woman, Laura Evans, who's autopsy report had confirmed that she had been beaten to death with a blunt object and died of blunt force trauma to the head before her body was dumped like it was a piece of trash.

Rigsby and Van Pelt were questioning the two young kids who had been the unlucky souls to have found Laura's body while Cho and Lisbon were questioning Gray Evans again. Lisbon had made Jane stay out of the interrogation room and watch through the one sided window.

"I told you, I was sick all week with the stomach flu. Around seven or so my stomach started to feel like it was gonna rip open."

"And Laura was still home with you at this point?" Cho asked.

"Yes. She was the one who finally convinced me to go to the hospital. I got there a little after eight I think."

"Your daughter Eden mentioned that she saw your wife leave the house around 10. Do you know anything about that, where she may have been going?" Cho said.

"Eden mentioned that, huh?" Lisbon watched as the tiniest hint of anger flashed through his hazel eyes.

"She did." Cho continued on with the questioning, missing what Lisbon hadn't. "She also mentioned that Laura had been acting a little off for the past few months."

"Laura's father has been sick, lung cancer... he's in the final stages. She was always on the phone with her mother or the doctors.

Gray buried his face in his hands and shook his head. "I just want you to find the son of a bitch who did this. I don't know who would want to hurt Laura. She was the sweetest woman you've ever met." Unshed tears began to glisten in Gray's eyes.

Lisbon pulled Cho back and whispered in his ear. "Keep him talking."

Cho nodded his head, not questioning his boss as she got up and left the room.

She was heading towards the large doors of the police station when Jane caught up to her.

"You're finished with Gray?" He asked, a little disbelieving.

"Not even close, but there's someone else I'd like to talk to."

"Eden." Jane said knowingly. "Wait." He touched Lisbon's elbow stopping her. "You're going to need Gray's permission to question her, she's a juvinile."

"Patrick Jane, suddenly going by the book? Has hell frozen over."

Jane couldn't stop the slight smirk at that comment. "Teresa Lisbon, suddenly breaking the rules... maybe hell has in fact frozen over. I never thought the day would come when St. Teresa would break the rules."

"Something is telling me that Eden and her little brother know a lot more than they're letting on. I think Eden will be more willing to open up knowing that her father is across town and not in the next room. There was something wrong about the way he was whispering to her the other day."

"You do realize that if she reveals anything we won't be able to use it."

"I know." Lisbon sighed. She thought about rethinking her plan, but only for a split second. "Look, I just want to talk to Eden, not even about her mom or the case. I just want to talk with her. Tomorrow I'll get Gray's permission and we will talk with her and her little brother again, following every single rule in the book."

Jane's smirk remained in place as Lisbon walked away from him. "I never thought I'd live to see the day I would finally rub off on you." He couldn't see it, but Jane knew she was rolling her eyes as she pushed through the double doors, only making his smirk grow wider.

**...**

Lisbon pressed down on the doorbell again and again, knocking on the door with her free hand while she shifted around anxiously.

"We've been here for 10 minutes, Lisbon."

"She has to be home." Lisbon said, her voice full of frustration.

"I can always pick the lock."

"We're already breaking one rule. There's no way in hell I'm going to be adding breaking and entering to the list."

"Lisbon..."

Jane was interrupted by an old woman walking a small yappy white dog.

"Can I help you two?" The old woman called out.

Lisbon flashed her a polite smile and showed her badge. "We're looking for Eden Evans."

The old woman shook her head sadly. "Poor girl. Well, her little brother, Joseph, is at my house with my oldest son. He's playing with my grandson, they're the same age. Eden is probably out back."

Lisbon thanked the older woman, who walked away mumbling something about "that poor girl" as she went.

Lisbon stepped down off the front porch and went to the side of the house, pushing the small gate to the backyard open. There was nothing back there except for a swing set that was falling apart and a dilapidated old garden shed.

Lisbon stopped and listened and could hear soft music coming from the shed.

As she got closer she could make out an old scratchy record playing old blues music. Lisbon reached for the small door of the shed and quietly pulled it open. She entered the shed with Jane following close behind.

Eden was standing on a small stepping stool, a tray of paints in her right hand and a brush in her left. She was delicately putting the final touches on a large canvas covered in what appeared to be the shadowy face of a hauntingly beautiful woman, neither Jane nor Lisbon could make out the identity of. The canvas was covered in deep shades of blues, purples, and crimson. The only thing that could be made out completely were the woman's eyes which had yet to be filled in. The unknown woman looked sad. She looked lost.

"That's remarkable." Jane said, fully admiring the piece of art work in front of him.

Eden let out a startled gasp and dropped the paint tray and brush to the floor, stumbling backwards until she bumped into the table with the record player on it, causing it to start to skip. When Eden fully realized what was going on she took the needle off the record and let herself catch her breath and calm down.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Jane apologized, still not able to tear his eyes away from the painting. He stepped around Lisbon and walked closer to the large canvas, his eyes taking in every inch of it. "Remarkable." He said again, genuinely meaning it.

"It's shit." Eden said, looking over the painting herself. Jane gave her a sideways glance, giving her a look of confusion. He was intrigued. The painting was actually quite amazing. "I can't get it right." Eden explained. "Whatever I do... I can't get it right."

Before Jane had a chance to say anything to defend the painting, Eden picked up a can of paint thinner and splashed it across the canvas. The colors began bleeding together and the woman's face slowly faded into nothing but a giant mess.

Eden shrugged. "I'll just start again."

"Where did you learn to pain like that?" Lisbon asked.

Eden shrugged again. "I don't know. I just started one day."

Lisbon looked the young girl over and saw it as a blessing that she and Jane had caught her off guard this time. She was in a place she felt safe, unlike at the police station. Lisbon's eyes traveled up Eden's worn, ripped jeans and the black tank top she was wearing, that was covered in paint. The two large vertical scars on Eden's wrists were what made Lisbon pause though. Eden saw her staring and immediately crossed her arms over her middle in an attempt to hide the scars. She had been wearing a long sleeved shirt the other day, hiding the scars from view. She turned her head, trying to hide the shame on her face and another faded memory began to intrude on Lisbon.

"We all have scars from our past." Eden defended herself. "Some are on the inside and some are on the outside."

Lisbon knew this all too well. She gave a small nod of understanding, letting Eden know she wasn't going to openly pry into the girl's past. She knew it would only push her away further and that was the last thing Lisbon wanted to do.

"You spend a lot of time in here don't you?" Jane observed, noticing how lived in the tiny shed appeared.

"I guess it's my fortress of solitude... bat cave, whatever you want to call it."

A reminiscent smile tugged at Lisbon's mouth. When she was a young girl she herself would hide out for hours on end in the basement of the apartment complex she lived in, in Chicago. All of the other kids found of creepy, but she and her brothers would spend hours down there, playing silly games and running around. It was the only place she felt safe. She always knew he would never find her there. He couldn't be bothered to look anyway.

"Does my dad know you're here?"

"No." Jane answered her, and saw the way her small body tensed.

"Then you should probably go."

"He's down at the station." Lisbon told her. "Jane and I wanted a chance to get to talk to you alone."

"You got to do that the other day." Eden reminded them.

"Well, we wanted to talk again." Lisbon sat down on a tiny stool in the corner.

"He's gonna get pissed if he finds out." Eden said, her voice giving off a hint of nervousness that Jane easily picked up on.

"No worries." Jane tried to calm her with one of his charming, bright smiles, but it had no effect. "It will be all right." He told her softly. Jane made a move to put his hand on Eden's shoulder and she instinctively flinched away. "Our little secret."

"I already told you that I don't know anything. I don't know anything that's going to help."

"That's a beautiful ring." Lisbon was admiring the sterling silver ring with a simple sapphire that Eden wore. She had it on the other day at the station as well and Lisbon unconsciously ran her fingers over the cross pendant around her own neck.

"It was my grandmother's." Eden explained, a bit shyly. "She gave it to my mom on her twelfth birthday and my mom did they same with me."

"This was my mom's as well." Lisbon delicately lifted the cross.

Jane watched Eden and Lisbon with silent interest, for once not feeling the need to interject any of his own personal commentary. He rarely saw Lisbon let her guard down and let someone in. He wasn't going to ruin the moment.

"How old were you when she gave it to you?" Eden asked.

"I was the same age as you. She left it to me."

"Left it to you?"

"Yeah, she passed away when I was 12... car accident."

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Lisbon told her, deciding to quickly move on. "So, how's Joseph? Your neighbor told us he was at her house playing with her grandson."

"So that's how you found me." Eden said and Lisbon arched an eyebrow. "Mrs. Greene... old woman with the yappy, obnoxious little white dog?"

"Yeah."

"He's okay. At least he's safe there."

"And he's not safe here?" Lisbon asked.

Eden ignored her question. "He's scared. I mean, he gets that my mom isn't coming back, but he doesn't understand why. I don't know what to tell him."

"Eventually he'll need to know the truth, but give it time."

"The truth." Eden mumbled to herself, sadness spreading through her amber eyes. "I wish I knew that myself."

"Eden." Lisbon gently said the girls name, getting her to look at her. "I am going to to do everything I can to find out who did this to your mother and make sure they get caught... okay?"

"Sure." Eden's voice was untrusting.

"I know you don't believe me and that's fine. I don't blame you. If I was in your position right now I wouldn't trust anyone either." Lisbon fished a small piece of scrap paper out of her pocket and walked over to Eden, picking up a charcoal pencil on the table behind her. She scribbled down her cell phone number, folded the paper and handed it to Eden. "If you need me, for anything, it doesn't matter if it is day or night or what time it is, I want you to call me."

Eden held onto the piece of paper tightly and silently nodded her head. She looked like she was about to say something when Lisbon's cell phone began ringing.

"Anything." Lisbon said again as she pulled out her phone and walked out of the shed.

"I'd love to see the finished product... you know, when you feel you've gotten it right." Jane gestured to the ruined painting.

"That could take forever. I don't know if I'll ever get it right."

Jane smiled at her, telling her in his own way that is was never wrong to begin with. He left the shed just as Lisbon was getting off the phone.

"Good news?" Jane asked, noticing the sudden spark in Lisbon's eyes.

"That was Rigsby. Apparently some waitress who works at this 24 hour diner the next town over was watching the news and she recognized Laura Evans. She called in and said that Laura was in the diner at least three times a week for the past two months always around 2 AM with a man."

"I told you she was having an affair."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Let's just hope it's not another dead end."

**TBC**


End file.
